1/29/2014

We measure the boys on one of the walls in the garage. We last measured on Ryder's birthday in September and measured again the other day and were so surprised to find that boys had grown so much! Ryder grew 1 1/2 inches in 4 months. That's not even right.

John Michael woke up last Saturday with a project in mind. It was pulling up our rug and mopping the floor. I sat back and enjoyed my coffee :)

I laughed so hard when Ryder came up and asked if he looked different. He found some moss and made himself have long hair.

These boys could not get along better. Ryder loves Levi so much and vice versa.

This happy boy makes John Michael and I grin ear to ear on a regular basis. He's just too darn cute and happy go lucky.

I got to watch my sweet little Emerson the other morning and she and Rhodes just adore one another. They are exactly one week a part. Precious babes.

Best brothers

Couldn't love eachother any more.

I seriously laughed out loud when Rhodes picked up this microphone and put it straight to his mouth. I don't know how he knew what it was! Babies are smarter than we give them credit for. That's for sure!

Rhodes, Ryder, Reagan and Kyle giving a Mrs. Casey sandwich!

If Rhodes can't be outside, he'll just stand at the window and wait until the sun comes out.

Last Tuesday I moved into a bigger booth and I needed to run a few more things up there Friday afternoon. As much as John Michael and Ryder (who calls it "the boring booth") can't stand doing this type thing, I guess they thought it was better than sitting at home without mama. So they all drove me over. Ryder went to shopping right away and found the perfect accessory.

Saturday morning we got to shower sweet Courtney and her little bundle to be, Austin.

And I finally got to squeeze lil Layla again.

Fun times in the tub.

Ryder and his imagination packed two suitcases and dressed up as a super hero for the big "trip" he was taking to the moon. He is so entertaining, it's just ridiculous. I've already discussed cutting off our cable with John Michael. What's the point? We have our own reality show with this one.

As active as he is, I love nothing more than staring his little face down while he sleeps and snores. Best.

My sweet grandmother passed away last Saturday. She has had a few years with dementia and has had such a hard time. I am sooo incredibly blessed with a huge and amazing family. My grandmother had nine wonderful children and I am so lucky to call all of them my aunts and uncles. She had 5 boys first, and then 4 girls, all almost one year apart! Hard to believe, right? Here is a precious picture I was able to catch of the four sisters watching as they closed her casket for the last time. There is so much love in this family.

I'm so glad my sweet boys were able to attend the service. Ryder was very interested in the whole thing and JM and I were able to have a good conversation with him about ones body, spirit and heaven. He understands and has talked about it quite alot since then.

Hayes, Rhodes, Ava and Ryder sitting patiently.

All of Mimi's grandchildren were there except for Johnna, who is in France studying abroad. She wrote a beautiful poem that was read at the service.

Hide and go seek is a family favorite in my home. Rhodes took it to the next level when he got a good hiding spot in the pantry with the door closed and totally freaked me out when I couldn't find him anywhere.

Ryder and Rhodes play great together which allows me to get things done around the house. This particular afternoon I heard them playing in the bathroom (for whatever reason) and just died out laughing when I heard Ryder say, "Who needs parents when you've got a little brother?" Sooo sweet, I can't stand it.

Rhodes is a whopping 18 months! Let's see. At his check up he was 75% head, 50% height and 40% weight. I had felt like he wasn't gaining much weight and his doctor confirmed it for me. She said it's pretty normal for this age to stay pretty much the same in weight but that he was also definitely below average. Not sure what the deal is with that but, it is what it is. She said since he's up in head and height that it's nothing to worry about. At his appointment I learned that he had an ear infection, I think this is his 5th or 6th. He's a candidate for tubes but since his have been so spread apart I don't think we will pursue it.

When he learned he was about to get 3 shots, all heck broke loose.

Ryder had his TOT halftime performance Thursday night. He shined like a superstar! Goooo Ryder!

His class all lined up. As you can see he's all animated over there on the far left.

Waving his sweet little hand at me :)

This crazy boy makes bedtime a whole nother story. He always makes a big deal about who he will choose to put him down. This night he said he was choosing the parent with the medium sized stomach. Not the one with the large sized stomach. So we were left to decide who he was referring too!

Friday morning we had his buddy Reagan's birthday party and he was dying to make her a card. Right before I was getting ready to fold it up he announced that he needed to put on "the finishing touch" Whaaaat? And he ended up drawing a boy and girl holding hands. oh my.

Rhodes is all over the place, he loves to climb more than any child I've ever seen.

And like most babies, he refuses to keep on his hoods when it's cold outside.

1/16/2014

Well, it didn't take long for Anna Terrell to say yes to the dress! We had a fun couple of days of dress shopping, but when you know, you know!!! Come on, June 28!!!

When John Michael gets an idea in his head, he won't go a day without doing it. He wanted to fry some chicken in a cast iron skillet and drove all over the high heavens looking for one. Tractor Supply, Kroger, Academy Sports. Finally found one. That chicken was on time too, I will admit.

Ryder doesn't much like chicken unless it's from Chickfila. This chicken was too crispy he said. He has texture issues in a big way!!!

All of our Christmas hopping wasn't over until Christmas with the Wilson/Ledbetter side in Benton.

Ryder got some fun big boy gifts, including this bow and arrow.

The sweet girls serenaded us up on the hill with their new pink microphones.

While the boys were busy being boys, seeing who could shoot their bow the farthest.

Our fabulous family photo. John Michael knows the drill.

JUST KEEPING LOOKING AT THE CAMERA!

Family

Didn't take Ryder but a couple minutes to strip down and put his new camo gear on that he got that day. That and a little harmonica made for a good afternoon.

Ryder was very helpful taking down Christmas stuff.

Until he got stuck. Then I had to put the camera down because it wasn't fun and games anymore...

Rhodes did this to himself.

I didn't correct the situation.

John Michael actually googled the best way to store Christmas lights and went outside looking for cardboard and made this little contraption.

Ain't nobody got time for that. Before he could notice I threw the rest of them in a garbage bag. Onward and Upward!

Ryder and his dinosaurs are something else. I'm telling you the truth. He claims he wants to be a paleontologist. He hunts for dinosaur bones and fossils outside. Here he was setting up a battle between carnivores and herbivores and don't forget the omnivores (omni-what????)

Before John Michael threw the tree out he sawed off a piece for us to put 2013 on and we will use it next year for an ornament, and hopefully continue the tradition - if we can remember to do it.

Time-Out.

John Michael and I took a one nighter to Natchez for New Years Eve. We had a great time together, despite the look on our face. Apparently downtown Natchez is the capital of antiques and thrift stores, so I think I wore him out a little bit during the day.

Then it was his turn to pick what to do!
Casino.

Walking back to the hotel in 2014. It's nothing short of a miracle the old man made it that long!

The weather was amazing on New Year's Day so we played alot outside.

Rhodes should have a great 2014 after all the black eyed peas he ate!

You better believe John Michael got on another idea. He just had to make cornbread from scratch. No Jiffy for him.

Silly boy loves to go shopping in his daddy's closet.

You can see in Rhodes' puffy eyes how cold it was outside. He just cried at the door until I finally took him out. It was so cold that we needed faucet covers outside. Eventually I gave in but I couldn't take it any longer and sat at the door and just watched him.

Love my Rushing crew. They make the afternoons go by much faster waiting on the daddy's to get home from work.

John Michael's guts in a bag. I like deer meat. I do. But when he brings home a walmart sack full of fresh killed deer dripping blood all along the way, that just about does it for me.

I had a great visit with Allyn Ann and Georgia while they were visiting!

I don't know what show Ryder watched where the main character kept his room clean (this is what I am assuming happened), but for the past two weeks, he has been obsessed with "tidying up his room." If I or Rhodes, or anyone really, drops anything on his floor, he near has a panic attack. And several times a day he asks me to come in to inspect how clean his room is.

Sometimes it's nice to kick back and let the men work!

As I said, Ryder is half paleontologist. He talks about dinosaurs I know I never learned about in school.

Rhodes is nearing 18 months and he has quite the personality. When he's not feeling the situation he will run. When it's bedtime, he runs away. When it's time to eat, he runs in the opposite direction. When it's time to change his diaper, he makes a run for the garage door. When he doesn't like what he has to eat and he's stuck in the highchair and can't run, he instead flicks it off of his plate.

Ryder went dumpster diving again in John Michael's closet.

I'm not sure if he's 4 or 14 here.

Daddy from head to toe.

Rhodes finally has a word. And it's CHEESE! And he says it when I put the phone up in camera position.

John Michael missed out on a really cute face time. We got screened!

Bath time is the most relaxing time of the day. For all three of us.

I do love having three outside loving boys in my house. Who also love a good project. Because they have really come in handy with my work lately. My four year old in particular loves helping his mama with projects. He's such a sweet boy. He always asks me how he can help me do this or that. And he does not like to leave me outside in the garage by myself. He keeps me in good company while I work.

You can call it cheesy (no pun intended), but I call it luuuuuurrrve. John Michael's sweet self pulled our frozen pizza out of the oven and our pepperoni's miraculously were in the shape of a heart :) hehe.

I have been trying to blog since the end of Christmas and am finally doing so.